Ski dresser

ABSTRACT

A SKI DRESSER FOR DRESSING METALLIC SKI SURFACES. THE DRESSER PROVIDES A SURFACE FOR STABLY CONTACTING A SKI SURFACE AND A BLADE AND GUIDE PIN FOR STABLY CONTACTING THE SURFACE TO BE DRESSED. THE BLADE IS ADJUSTABLE TO DRESS SURFACES OF DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS.

Nov. 23, 1971 GERN 3,621,571

SKI DRESSER Filed Oct. 21, 1970 1 "l my United States Pate 3,621,571 SKI DRESSER Fritz Gem, 40 Flower City Park, Rochester, NX. 14615 Filed Oct. 21, 1970, Ser. No. 82,764 Int. Cl. B26b 3/00 U.S. Cl. 30-169 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLUSURE A ski dresser for dressing metallic ski surfaces. The dresser provides a surface for stably contacting a ski surface and a blade and guide pin for stably contacting the surface to be dressed. The blade is adjustable to dress surfaces of different dimensions.

This invention relates to a ski dresser for dressing the metal edges of skiis.

Presently, many skiis used by skiers have metallic edges or metallic inserts at the bottom edges of the skiis. Those metallic inserts or metallic edges must be maintained in a clean, smooth condition if maximum speed and maneuverability are to be obtained when such skiis are used. For that reason, such skiis must frequently have the metallic edges or metallic inserts dressed or sharpened, thereby to remove burrs or to dress nicks and the like.

Ski sharpeners or dressers now available are frequently cumbersome, diflicult to use and expensive. Further, during the skiing season, if skiers wish to have their skiis dressed in ski shops, frequently they must wait for many days to have them dressed. Each time there is a substantial charge made for that dressing.

In accordance with this invention, an easily used, inexpensive, compact and readily portable ski dresser is provided. The ski dresser has a very extended useful life, is sharper than available ski dressers intended for use by skiers themselves, and may be made inexpensively enough for the aver-age skier to purchase. It is easily used by the individual skier, even on ski trails, and it is well adapted for that purpose because of its lightweight and very compact nature.

The ski dresser of this invention is readily adjustable to dress skiis having metallic inserts of a variety of dimensions, all without cutting the adjacent non-metallic portions of the skiis. Further, it is readily adapted to dress opposite sides of a ski without further adjustment after a first adjustment has been made for one side of a ski.

A preferred ski dresser of this invention comprises a main body element suitably mounting a ski dressing blade and a guide pin. The guide pin and dressing edge of the dressing blade project outwardly from a first surface of the body element. That first surface of the body is adapted stably to slide along a first ski surface. The guide pin and dressing edge of the dressing blade are adapted to slide along and dress a second surface portion of the ski which is normal to the first ski surface. Preferably, the extent of the projection of the dressing edge of the blade beyond the surface of the body is adjustable in accordance with normal variations encountered in skiis of varying manufacture. The dressing edge preferably comprises a beveled edge of the blade.

Other features of this invention, and further objects and advantages thereof will become apparent from the following description and drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ski dresser of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the ski dresser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the ski dresser of FIG. 1 in operational juxtaposition with a ski to be dressed; and

3,5Z1L57l Patented Nov. 23, 1971 FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the ski and ski dresser of FIG. 3 taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3. I

Referring now to the drawings which illustrate a presently preferred embodiment of this invention, a ski dresser 10 comprises a main body member 12. Main body member 12 is block-like in' shape and is desirably a rectangular parallelepiped. Main body member 12 defines a pair of parallel opposite major surfaces which are the most expansive of the pairs of opposite surfaces. Surface means 14, which in the embodiment illustrated are fiat, provide for stable sliding contact with a first surface of a ski for a purpose to be described.

Main body member 12 mounts a dressing blade 16 preferably in a cavity defined by the main body member. In the embodiment illustrated, the cavity is illustrated as a rectangular notch 18 which is adapted snugly, but not tightly, to receive blade 16. As such, blade 16 is slidable from side to side in notch 18, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Blade 16 is adapted to project outwardly from a major surface means 14 and for a distance therefrom which is equal to the width of the metallic portion of the ski to be dressed (see FIG. 4). Since this width varies from ski to ski, means are provided for releasably retaining the dressing blade 16 in a substantial range of projecting distances from surface means 14.

These releasable retaining means, include a locking screw 20 which threadingly mates with a threaded bore in the main body member 12. When looking screw 20 is tightened, sideward movement of the blade 16 with respect to notch 18 is resisted under normal conditions of use. Further to retain the blade in its position in the notch 18, a clamping screw 22 is provided. Clamping screw 22 includes a threaded shank threadedly received in a cooperating threaded bore in main body member 12. The head 24 of clamping screw 22 overlies the upper edge surface 26 of blade 16, thereby to thrust the dressing edge 28 downwardly toward the innermost edge of notch 18. Head 24 thereby assists locking screw 20 in preventing sideward movement of blade 16, and further serves to prevent outward movement of the blade when force is exerted against the ski.

To maintain the beveled dressing edge 28 at its proper angle of contact with the surface of the ski to be dressed, a guide pin 30 is provided. Pin 36 projects outwardly from major surface means 14 and in a direction normal to that surface. Thus, as seen in FIG. 3, dressing edge 28 and guide pin 30 each contact the edge of, or portion of the ski to be dressed at spaced locations to enhance the stability of the ski dresser 10 when it is being used.

It will be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4 that guide pin 30 and the dressing edge 28 of blade 16 project outwardly from major surface 14 and that they are disposed normally thereto. Thus, when a stabilized contacting surface means, such as the flat surface 14 contacts one surface of a ski, the adjacent surface of the ski is contacted squarely both by guide pin 30 and dressing edge 28 thereby to assure the maintenance of a square relationship between the metallic edge to be dressed and the surface of the ski adjacent and normal thereto.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, a ski dresser 10 of this invention is shown in juxtaposition with a ski S. Those figures illustrate the manner in which the ski dresser 10 contacts and operates upon a metallic edge portion of ski S. As there illustrated, ski S defines a bottom surface 40 and side surfaces or edges 42. At the intersection of each side surface 42 with bottom surface 40 a metallic insert 44 which runs substantially the entire length of the ski is provided. With respect to the specific ski S illustrated, it is the edges of metallic inserts 44 which require dressing from time to time.

To use ski dresser 10, locking screw 20 and clamping screw 22 are screwed slightly outwardly and the blade 16 is adjusted until a blade portion 46 (see FIG. 4) projects outwardly from a major surface 14 a distance equal to the vertical dimension of metallic insert 44. At this point, locking screw 20 and clamping screw 22 are brought into their locking and clamping positions thereby to fix blade 16 in position.

For the most effective use of ski dresser 10, a ski S is held by one hand in a vertically upright position. Than as illustrated in FIG. 3, major surface 14 is positioned against the bottom surface 40 and pin 30 and dressing edge 28 of blade 16 are brought into contact with side surface 42, the dressing edge 28 of course contacting only the metal insert 44. Then, while exerting a force against main body member 12, preferably at clamping screw 22 and between clamping screw 22 and guide pin 30, the ski dresser is drawn downwardly along the edge of the upright ski from top to bottom, and preferably in a single stroke. Materials requiring cleaning from the surface of the metallic insert 44, imperfections and burrs thereon, and the like, will thus be removed by the dressing edge 28, once again to provide a clean surface which will maximize the speed and maneuverability obtainable from the ski. Of course, the opposite metallic insert 44 may be dressed in the same manner just described.

A ski dresser made in accordance with this invention is lightweight and compact. For example, a main body member 12 is desirably made from a phenolic resin. It may be about /2 x 1.4 x 2.4 inches in size. The width of the blade 16 may be about 1 inch, while its depth may be /2 inch. Blade 16, which may be of hardened tool steel, is adapted to project from one or both sides of the main body member, hence, beyond one or both major surface means 14, by /2 inch or more, as necessary.

Desirably the guide pin is about 1 inch in length, thereby normally projecting inch from each side of the main body member 12. The width of notch 18 may be substantially identical to the width of the blade, i.e., about inch. The depth of the notch 18 is preferably slightly less than the depth of the blade, so that the clamping screw 22 may act downwardly against edge surface 26 of blade 16. The guide pin is desirably press-fit into a suitably dimensioned bore in main body member 12.

Main body member 12 may be machined from a bar of phenolic or other material, or may be molded to define notch 18, the threaded bores receiving the shanks of locking screw 20 and clamping screw 22 and the bore to receive the guide pin 30.

What is claimed is:

1. A ski dresser comprising a main body defining surface means for stable sliding contact with a first ski surface, a blade defining a dressing edge, means for mounting said blade in said main body, said dressing edge being disposed normal to said surface means, said dressing edge projecting outwardly of said body beyond said surface means, and guide means projecting outwardly of said body beyond said surface means, said guide means and said blade edge being spaced apart and being adapted to contact a second ski surface generally normal to first ski surface when said surface means contacts said first ski surface.

2. The ski dresser of claim 1 in which said blade mounting means comprises a cavity defined in said main body, said cavity being open at said surface means.

3. The ski dresser of claim 2 in which said cavity is a notch and said surface means is a fiat surface.

4. In the ski dresser of claim 1 in which said main body defines a pair of parallel spaced apart surface means and each of said dressing edge and said guide means project outwardly beyond both surface means.

5. In the ski dresser of claim 2 in which said cavity is a notch and said blade mounting means further comprises means for releasably retaining said blade in said notch.

6. In the ski dresser of claim 5 in which said releasable retaining means comprises a screw for adjustably fixing the extent of outward projection of said dressing edge beyond said surface means.

7. In the ski dresser of claim 5 in which said releasable retaining means comprises a screw and said dressing edge is positioned at the innermost edge of said notch, said screw being positioned to thrust said dressing edge toward said innermost edge of said notch.

8. In the ski dresser of claim 7 in which said releasable retaining means further comprises a screw for adjustably fixing the extent of outward projection of said dressing edge beyond said surface means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 196,623 10/1877 Blum 30-169 849,681 4/1907 Hauver 30-172 1,464,264 8/ 1923 Griswold 30-169 2,413,394 12/1946 Volgenau 30'-l69 2,618,004 11/1952 Heyder 15236 3,371,417 3/1968 Leibow 30293 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner J. C. PETERS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 15--236 

